Psychological issues

When he left home to attend his regular diabetes clinic, Ray Msengana was already feeling unwell. But when he was told that the treatment of his Type 2 diabetes was to change from tablets to insulin therapy, he rapidly felt a lot worse. In this candid account of life with diabetes, Ray Msengana describes the affective impact of the condition, and makes a call for changes in the way diabetes is managed.

The scale of the problem that diabetes poses to world health is still widely under-recognized. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that if current trends continue, the number of people with diabetes will almost double; from 194 million people in 2003 to 333 million by the year 2025. Diabetes is already the most costly health-care problem in the westernized and 'westernizing' countries.

Editor-in-Chief's editorial

President's editorial

Listen to the voice of a young girl Lonnie, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 16. Imagine that she is deeply involved in the social security system. She lives with her mother and two siblings in a working class part of a small town. She is at a special school for problematic youth, and her carers are seriously concerned about how she is going to manager her diabetes.

Empowerment is a philosophy that recognizes the fundamental right of people with diabetes to be the primary decision makers in the management of their condition. It represents a more compatible model of care and education needed for a self-managed illness such as diabetes.

There has been an enormous change over the last 30 years in diabetes care and education in Germany and most of Western Europe. Nowadays, feelings of frustration have decreased for both healthcare professionals and people with diabetes, as it is finally becoming recognized just who is responsible for what.

Being a woman and having diabetes can mean double discrimination for women all over the world. Even more so in many developing countries, where women, whether they have diabetes or not, still have to fight harder than ever to achieve equal rights and equal opportunities. This article, however, will not offer a helpless victim's point of view.

Talk to anyone with diabetes or their family members about living with such a complex condition and they will tell you about the many physical and psychological issues they continually face. This article highlights some of the principal psychosocial concerns affecting diabetes care and explains how social workers can help people to cope with the challenges and changes which are triggered by diabetes.

While stress has long been considered an important factor in Type 2 diabetes, there has been very little experimental evidence to show how it might affect the development of the disease. This article looks at recent research evidence which demonstrates the relationship between stress and the onset and course of Type 2 diabetes and describes how simple stress management techniques can have a significant impact on long-term diabetes control.